DESTINATIONS
CARBON LABELS | SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL What’s the footprint?
Sample carbon ratings 55kg WELSH WINTER
WELLNESS
With yoga, mindfulness walks and hikes in the rolling Welsh landscapes, this January wellness-focused trip is for clients seeking a relaxed escape with a very low footprint. Other activities include winter
wreath-making, while added sells include a tree planted for every guest and an optional trail clean, for those interested in regenerative tourism. Book it: Adventure Tours UK’s four-day Winter Wellness Retreat in mid-Wales costs from £645, based on a January 4, 2024, departure. Price includes accommodation, activities and most meals.
adventuretoursuk.com
138kg SWISS RAIL JOURNEY
This tour starts in London, goes through France to Geneva and on to some of Switzerland’s iconic routes, including the Golden Pass – where the train hugs the hillsides as it climbs away from Lake Geneva’s shores
ABOVE: Carbon labels enable clients to make informed decisions about the carbon footprint of trips PICTURE: Shutterstock/J.M. Image Factory
impact manager, says: “Carbon labels could be even more effective if it became a standard practice across the travel industry. If more companies start measuring and transparently informing the customer about the impact, then I think there’s great power in that.”
HOW TO SELL Etti is keen to highlight that it doesn’t mean missing out on a great travel experience. “Just because a trip is lower carbon or sustainable, it doesn’t mean that a customer has to lose anything from their holiday. If anything, it’s more authentic and immersive, because we’re visiting local suppliers and staying in local accommodation,” she says. Methven suggests talking
to providers to ask them how they’ve worked out their carbon labels, and exactly what the numbers include. Then they can talk about the positives, and how the numbers can bring different
travelweekly.co.uk It’s about adding
value for customers so they can say ‘I’ve picked a trip with a lower impact but I’m still going to have a great time’
aspects of a trip to life – for example if the carbon footprint of a trip to, say, an idyllic vineyard near Bordeaux has been lowered by introducing an e-vehicle. “It’s about looking for those things that add value for customers, so they can say ‘I’ve picked a trip with a slightly lower environmental impact but I’m still going to have a great time,’” she says. “It’s about finding out which part of the holiday has been enhanced by looking at the carbon footprint.”
TW
en route to Interlaken, with its icy blue glacial lakes. Chug through glacial valleys and canyons to Chur, then home via Lucerne through Germany. Book it: Byway’s eight-day Golden Pass and Lake Lucerne trip costs from £1,015 based on a February 11, 2024, departure. Price includes accommodation and trains from London.
byway.travel
1259kg FOODIE MEXICO (337kg tour + 922kg flights)
Clients can taste their way through some of Mexico’s famous food regions on this Intrepid trip, touring Oaxaca’s markets with a local chef, learning to cook seafood in Huatulco and trying tacos in Mexico City.
Between meals, they’ll explore the country’s culture, from Mexico City’s Mitla ruins to the Monte Alban pre-Columbian architectural site. Book it: Intrepid’s nine-day Mexico Real Food Adventure costs from £1,373, based on a departure date of April 20, 2024. Price includes accommodation, transport, experiences and some meals, but not flights.
intrepidtravel.com
1287kg WISH-LIST JAPAN (499kg tour + 788kg flights)
This trip covers both Tokyo’s modern side, such as the Shibuya Crossing, and the city’s traditions, with a fire ceremony at Fudo-do temple. Groups then head to the samurai district of Kanazawa and on, via
Hiroshima, to Kyoto’s Zen gardens. To keep carbon footprints low, clients use public transport and there are stays in family-run ryokans. Book it: Explore’s 14-day Simply Japan trip costs from £3,144, based on a February 18, 2024, departure. Price includes accommodation, some meals, bus, train and ferry tickets, plus a guide, but not flights.
explore.co.uk Figures are CO2 emissions per person. Source: T
T
our figures are suppliers’ own; flight figures (Heathrow-Mexico City and Heathrow-okyo) from International Civil Aviation Organization.
30 NOVEMBER 2023
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PICTURE: Shutterstock/JRomero04; Unsplash/xavier von erlach
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